Review: Gopala Vegetarian Restaurant

Recently, Capt'n Hook was looking around for a decent Indian vegetarian to bring a group of nuns from Kopan Monastery & Nunnery for lunch after prayers. We went around trying to find a suitable place and I remember there was a place in Brickfields that boo_licious had blogged about. Her post got my Indian colleagues excited as they were wondering where the heck is Jalan Thambipillai. I was roped in to google for the map and later on we found out where exactly Gopala Vegetarian Restaurant was located.

So one evening, we both set out to check out the restaurant. Parking was quite easy as there's an open air car park a stone throw away but look kinda weird cos it's actually a widened road complete with bright street lamps. However, the road is blocked both ways. Upon checking with the attendant, we were told there is no way they'll open up the road as the end of the road there's a temple sitting on it. As it's sensitive to demolish temple at the moment, hence the road leading into the many worship places around Jalan Berhala never materialise. If you want to save on a few ringgits, just watch out and pray for empty parking lots in front of the restaurant.

It's not difficult to look for Gopala as there's a huge signage over 2 shoplots. One lot is air-conditioned and there's no guessing which lot we stepped into :p with the current weather. The place is absolutely clean and pleasant. Service was attentive too.



We were told they practice Hare Krishna beliefs, hence all food served here is vegetarian and cooked without garlic or onions. The menu dotted with photos is quite extensive and there were Chinese and Western dishes as well. We placed our order and the food came rather quickly.

I had the Chapati with Keema set (RM3.50) which came with 2 pieces of chapati and the vegetarian keema. The keema was quite all right but I forgot to tell them I wanted freshly made chapati, hence my chapati was a bit limp.



Capt'n Hook asked for Kashmir Fried Rice (RM4.50) which we found ingredients like vegetarian bits, mixed vegetables, cabbage, cashew nut, raisins and dried chillies. This fried rice had enough wok hei and even though fried chillies were used, they only give the rice a slight hint of hotness.



We ordered a Stir-fried Kai Lan with Salted Fish (RM8). We find the kai lan were too fibrous swimming in a pool of light gravy with shreds of ginger, otherwise it's quite decent but of course can't compare with stir-fried vege at Chinese tai chow.



This is the Satay Set (grilled soy bits, RM5.50 for 5 sticks) which was strongly recommended to us. No regrets ordering this as they were good even on it's own without dipping into the mediocre peanut sauce.



The Mango Lassi (RM4.60) lacked the fruity mango goodness while the ABC (ice-kacang RM4) was vibrant with all the colourful toppings ranging from red kidney beans, creamed corn, cendol, jelly, peanuts and huge sago pearls.




Gopala Vegetarian Restaurant
59 Jalan Thambipillai
Brickfields
Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 603 2274 1959
Halal. Open from 7am till late every night.


Technorati tags: vegetarian + indian food